The oddest thing I have discovered about hoomans is that when lakes freeze over in the winter and rivers are choked down with thick ice — they want to go fishing.
Really? It’s cold, there’s ice everywhere and you had all summer to fish. Why go now?
The other morning it was -36 degrees Fahrenheit (yes, that’s a minus) and that is cold — period. Later, when the sun appeared and the temperature soared to a balmy 20 degrees Fahrenheit, Mike decided to go fishing. I always have to go along and make sure he doesn’t fall in and freeze to death, and soon we were along a river and Mike was rigging a fly rod. Well, at least the temperature was not sub-zero, but I quickly discovered the water was only 32.1 degrees Fahrenheit — just warm enough to flow.
Mike spent much of this trip fighting all the ice. There was slippery ice to walk on atop the bankside trails, huge sheets of more slippery ice along the river’s edge and ice freezing in the eyes on his fly rod as he fished. Ice fishing is just insane, and I know well why we saw no other anglers. The smart ones were all at home sitting by the fireplace and having libations, har har!
Well, the great news is there were no crowds of anglers to fight and no mad cows lurking in the bushes to charge out and chase me. Hey, no bugs either — I hate biting bugs. More good news is that after two hours in and out of the water, Mike gave up the fight with the ice and headed for the truck.
I’m at home lying by the fireplace and thawing out. The next time I hear the mention of ice fishing I may start growling and drooling. No one wants to fish with a dog that appears to have rabies, har har! —Cameron
This collection of 22 stories set on fabled waters from Alaska to Baja confirms Scott Sadil’s reputation as a writer of literary fiction in the best sporting tradition. The stories capture the beauty of wild fish and the waters and landscapes where we find them and go beyond the fishing to explore relationships—between parents and children, husbands and wives, siblings, lovers, and friends—the real life situations that evoke the same win-lose drama played out between anglers and their prey. Buy Now
